GAT-X105E+AQM/E-X09S Strike Noir Gundam
The Strike Noir is a Mobile Suit in the ONA Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer. Combat Abilities Besides the standard armament of the GAT-X105E Strike E (CIWS guns, rocket anchors, beam rifles), the Strike Noir is equipped with the AQM/E-X09S Noir Striker. The Noir Striker is a flight pack equipped with a pair of linked MAU-M3E42 linked linear guns and a pair of heavy MR-Q10 "Fragarach" 3 beam blades. In effect it combines the primary features of the original three Striker Packs (the Aile, Sword, and Launcher Strikers). It also mounts a single EQS1358T rocket anchor. The Noir Striker is based on test data from the Integrated Weapons Striker Pack (IWSP), which was originally designed by Orb but later duplicated by Actaeon Industries under a Phantom Pain contract. Besides these armaments, the Strike Noir typically carries a pair of larger grenade launcher-equipped 57mm high-energy beam rifles of the same type used by the GAT-X102 Duel. The PS armor on the Strike E also changes color slightly, with the knees, head, and skirt changing to black and the white armor pieces change to a dull grey. History Following the first Bloody Valentine War, several GAT-X105 Strike units are upgraded by Actaeon Industries into the more powerful and advanced Strike E. One such unit is handed over to Phantom Pain pilot Sven Cal Payang, whose unit is typically equipped with the Strike Noir pack. Sven, together with his comrades Mudie Holcroft in her GAT-X1022 Blu Duel and Shams Couza in his GAT-X103AP Verde Buster, make up a trio of Gundam pilots. The Strike Noir's first deployment, along with the Blu Duel and Verde Buster, was to defend against Zala loyalist guerillas who emerged in the wake of the "Break the World" terrorist attack. Shortly afterward, Sven supervised a squad of GAT-01A2R Slaughter Daggers as they destroyed a Coordinator refugee camp where some of the terrorists were allegedly trained. Later in CE 73, Sven engaged in a brief, inconclusive duel with Martian Coordinator Ergnes Brahe in the GSF-YAM01 Δ Astray. Ergnes escaped in his ship, the Acidalium. Shortly afterward, when Orb joined in a treaty with the Earth Alliance, Sven was assigned to lead a squad of five Slaughter Daggers piloted by Orb soldiers in pursuit of the Acidalium. While the Orb pilots fared poorly and Sven's Noir Striker being damaged during the fight, he attached the IWSP (which was being used by one of the Orb pilots) to Strike Noir and managed to severely cripple the Δ Astray. At some point after this operation, Sven returned to his Phantom Pain squad and escorted the Bonaparte as it delivered the GFAS-X1 Destroy Neo Roanoke's unit. The Bonaparte was attacked along the way, and while Blu Duel pilot Mudie Holcroft was killed, the attacking ZAFT force is wiped out and the Bonaparte arrived at its destination. In CE 74, the remainder of Sven's squad is assigned to attack the Deep Space Survey and Development Organization's (DSSD) space station, to capture the GSX-401FW Stargazer's AI unit. During the battle, Sven is caught off guard by Stargazer's unorthodox anti-beam defense system, and Strike Noir's left arm is sliced off, along with other less significant damage. Stargazer's pilot Selene McGriff then grabed the Strike Noir and uses the DSSD station's propulsion laser to launch both mobile suits away from the battlefield. They are carried all the way to Venus, where Selene drained Strike Noir's remaining power into Stargazer's reactor, and rescueed Sven from the disabled mobile suit. As Stargazer returned to Earth, Strike Noir is abandoned in orbit around Venus. Trivia * It is the second Strike-derived unit to bear a color-themed name, "noir" being the French word for black, and the first being the MBF-02 Strike Rouge. * The Strike Noir, along with its sister units the Verde Buster and the Blu Duel, make up the third "trio" of Gundams piloted by EA/Phantom Pain pilots, following the GAT-X131 Calamity, GAT-X252 Forbidden, and GAT-X370 Raider from Gundam SEED, and the stolen ZGMF-X24S Chaos, ZGMF-X88S Gaia, and ZGMF-X31S Abyss from Gundam SEED Destiny. While the pilots were raised and indoctrinated in a special military school, they were apparently not artificially enhanced. External Links Strike Noir on MAHQ